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The protest, which is being called 'Take Back Trinity', began last Friday when a group of students blocked the College Green entrance to the university and shut down access to the Book of Kells for two hours.

However, the students decided to step-up their protest yesterday following a meeting between Mr Keane and the Vice Provost, Professor Chris Morash.

Speaking from the Dining Hall, Mr Keane said: "We’re here because Trinity have been taking advantage of students for years.

"They’ve been squeezing every last cent out of us, and we’ve seen charge after charge and levy after levy added.

"The €450 flat fee for repeating exams is just the latest example; whether you fail one exam or ten, you’ve to pay that much and it’s not acceptable.

"It's the latest example of Trinity ignoring us and deliberately trying to silence us, and we’re not going to stand for it."

Mr Keane added that the students have no intention of leaving the building until their demands are met and the €450 repeat exam fee is scrapped.

He said: "We want a commitment from the University that they honour the will of the students and remove the €450 exam repeat fee.

"We also want a commitment for them not to needlessly escalate security to such a heavy degree in opposition to what is a peaceful student protest in a building that exists for students, and we demand to be treated with respect. It’s ridiculous."

Meanwhile, People Before Profit TD Richard Boyd Barrett said the actions of security "shockingly draconian" and called for the university management to show decency towards the students.

The Dun Laoghaire TD said: "These students are participating in an occupation against the unjust and extortionate fees for resitting exams that so many of them cannot afford.

Trinity students occupy the Dining Hall in a protest against the introduction of a €450 fee to repeat exams (Image: Take Back Trinity)

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"To lock students in the Dining Hall and prevent them from using toilet facilities, [and] getting running water and food is more like the actions of a totalitarian dictatorship than the actions of a University."

A spokeswoman for Trinity College denied students were locked into the Dining Hall, and said they were free to leave at any time they want.

In a statement, the university added: "The College is taking all steps to ensure that the students inside are safe.

"However, we are not letting anyone else into the building, as there were concerns that large numbers of non-students had been invited into the building through an open call, and this would result in unacceptable risks for all concerned."